The DMZ ranked third globally and first in North America in UBI global ranking

TORONTO, November 25, 2015 — The DMZ at Toronto Metropolitan University has been ranked third among university-based business incubators in the world by UBI Global, after earning the title of top incubator in North America earlier this month. Up from fifth place last year, the Stockholm-based research organization has benchmarked 340 incubators globally, recognizing the DMZ as one of the world leaders in fostering entrepreneurship.

“The DMZ helps startups with great solutions succeed by giving them access to our widespread support,” said Abdullah Snobar, Executive Director at the DMZ. “This ranking recognizes our dedication and efforts to foster the development of new entrepreneurial talent and their ideas into sustainable businesses that make an impact in the global ecosystem.”

UBI Global is a leader in performance analysis of business incubators around the world, which helps incubators and accelerators become more efficient and competitive through a comprehensive benchmark. More than 50 performance indicators, which included talent retention, economy enhancement, post-incubation relationships and startup survival rate, were benchmarked in six geographic regions.

“The DMZ performs exceptionally well on a global scale, showing the effect university-based incubators can have on both local and international startup ecosystems,” said Ali Amin, CEO of UBI Global. “It supports small businesses by providing tools and resources that generate unparalleled economic impact, playing a vital role in the development of Canadian startups.”

University-based business incubator finalists in the world rankings include Polihub in Milan (#5), 1871 in Chicago (#4) and Innovation Incubation Centre Chaoyang University of Technology in Beijing (#2) with Bristol’s SETsquared taking first place.

The DMZ is a community of industry-leading advisors, mentors, entrepreneurs and professionals that offer startups the knowledge and support needed to grow businesses. Located in downtown Toronto, the DMZ’s reach extends beyond Canada with strong ties to India, South Africa, UK and Tunisia, building strategic partnerships, creating international competitions and fellowship programs that help startups scale globally.

Some DMZ success stories include: Figure 1, a medical professional photo-sharing app used by 500,000 users to crowdsource diagnoses to medical conditions; SoapBox, an employee engagement platform for large enterprises which recently announced a $3 million seed round and VISR, an app that helps children safely navigate technology and social media, which just raised $1 million.

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The DMZ is one of Canada’s largest business incubators. The top-ranked university incubator in North America and third in the world, the DMZ is a hub of innovation, collaboration and commercialization. Since opening in April 2010, the DMZ and Ryerson Futures Inc.—its affiliated accelerator program—have incubated and accelerated 219 startups, which have collectively raised more than $120 million in funding and fostered more than 1,964 jobs. For more information about the DMZ, visit www.ryerson.ca/dmz